The Lone Wanderer: Saint or Sinner?
by ShadowsFear22
Summary: Kayden Johnson was a normal kid. That is, until his father, James, left Vault 101. Now he must flee the Vault and venture into the unknown Capital Wasteland in search of his father. Will he become the Wasteland's savior or its scourge?
1. Intro

The Lone Wanderer: Sinner or Saint?

The G.O.A.T was a test that no one in Vault 101 enjoyed. A fact that was not lost on Kayden as he sat at his desk, answering the questions as the boredom rose inside him. He was only halfway through the test and was already sick of its questions. After another arduous 30 minutes, he was finally done and waiting for Mr. Brotch, the test's administrator, to call his name. ' _Why the fuck do they think this standardized test should determine what I do for the rest of my life?'_ he though to himself with a mixture of disgust and confusion. All his friends swore that there was nothing he should be worried about, considering his father, James Johnson, was the Vault's doctor and scientist. Kayden always argued with the fact that he wasn't anywhere near as smart as his father. He was more of a fighter, not a scientist.

"Kayden Johnson!"

Kayden got up and walked over to the teacher's desk. A million possibilities of what was going to happen running through his mind. Sure, he was skilled when it came to repairing things and could easily hack any computer he found but on this test, that didn't mean a single thing. If only the test involved things such as hand-to-hand, shooting or even hacking. He sighs "Yes, Mr. Brotch?"

"Well, according to the test, you will make an excellent chef."

"Are you kidding me?" Kayden's jaw dropped, "a chef? I have no clue how to cook!"

Brotch waved Kayden closer and whispered, "Look, I know this test is a load of bullshit. I still owe you and your father for helping me out last year. I also know how skilled of a fighter you are." Kayden knew what he was talking about. Last year, the projector in the classroom fell and broke Brotch's left shoulder and Kayden repaired the projector with ease. "If you want, I can tweak the answers around so you get whatever job you want. I just need to know what you want to do."

Kayden shook his head in defeat, "No. Leave it. I'll deal with it." He leaves the classroom and heads towards his room. He hadn't gotten 10 feet from the classroom when he walks into his father. "Hey dad, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to see how my son faired on the infamous G.O.A.T."

"It could have gone better. According to the damned test, I'll make a great chef." He hangs his head in mock defeat.

It was all James could do to keep from laughing. The glare he received from Kayden pushed it too far and he burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, son. I know you hate it but we all had to take the test. I know you'll make due. Now come on, let's go get some dinner to celebrate your surviving the test."


	2. End of Paradise

Over the past 2 years, Kayden has learned how to cook everything the Vault had to offer. Turns out, he did have a knack for cooking. In his opinion, Things had been enjoyable. Amata, the Overseer's daughter, was his closest friend and his willing guinea pig when he tried a new recipe. But to everyone in the Vault's surprise, the façade of paradise was about to fall.

"Come on… Wake up!" It was barely past 6 am when Amata's voice slowly roused Kayden from his sleep.

"Amata? What's going on?"

"Get up! You have to get out of here!" the concern in Amata's voice snapped Kayden wide awake. "You're father is gone! Somehow he left the Vault!"

"What? That's impossible!" Kayden looked around his room and looked at the photo of him and his father that was taken 8 years ago. _'His father had left the Vault? Why?'_ he thought to himself.

"Apparently, he left early this morning and now my father is looking for you. He's furious about your father and I don't know what he's going to do! Did your father say anything about this to you?"

"No, he never said a thing about leaving or wanting to." Kayden got up and slid into his jumpsuit and laced his boots up. He quickly filled his backpack with the bare necessities: another jumpsuit, some bottled water, a bar of soap, and the photo.

"Here, I stole this from daddy's dresser." Amata hands him a 10mm pistol, a holster and 3 clips of ammo.

"Thanks, Amata," he strapped the holster to his right thigh and places the pistol in it before placing the spare clips in his jumpsuit's pocket. "I'll only use this as a last resort."

"I know you will. Now hurry and get out of here!" Amata leaves Kayden in his room and he quickly scans the room for the security baton he swiped from the armory when he was younger.

As he stepped out of his room, the Vault's PA system came on, "Attention all Vault Personnel: we have a radroach infestation on levels two and three. All available security personnel must report to the armory. All civilians are to stay in your rooms until further notice." Kayden knew instantly that this was going to be his only chance to escape. He turns and heads toward the medical room to see if there's any info on where his father went.

"Hey you! Hold it right there!"

Kayden froze as he recognized the voice as Officer Mack. He slowly turned around to face Mack and raised his hands. "I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Too late for that, kid, you're under arrest for treason!"

Kayden's eyes bugged out of his head. "Treason? You're going to arrest me for my father leaving the Vault? Sorry, Officer Mack, but I'm going to leave just as he did." Kayden slowly backs away from the officer as the door beside Mack opens and radroaches begin attacking the man. Kayden, seeing this as the perfect distraction, turns and bolts away. He had barely made it up the stairs before her runs into Officer Gomez, one of the more reasonable security officers.

"Kayden, Im glad I found you before anyone else did. I don't know what you or your father did but the Overseer is pissed!"

Kayden braced himself for a fight, "Dad left the Vault and I'm going to do the same and find him."

Gomez sighed, "I like you, Kayden. As far as I'm concerned, I never saw you. Now get out of here!"

Kayden ran past Gomez and comes to the entrance of his father's lab and the medical room. HE grips the baton in his right hand and slowly walks inside, unsure of what he'll find. To his horror, he finds Jonas, his father's assistant, dead from a bullet to the head, no doubt, the work of Security Chief Hannon. ' _My god, Not Jonas!'_ he thought to himself. The bile and anger rose inside him as he swore silently that before he left, he would end Hannon's life himself. As he placed a hand on his deceased friend, he noticed something in the pocket of the lab coat. He reaches inside and finds a holotape from his father. He placed it into his backpack and decided to listen to it once he got out of here.

As he turned around, he saw a safe on the wall behind his father's desk. As he walked up to it, he noticed it was still locked. _"Shit, it needs a key. Guess I'll have to pick it"_ he thought as he grabbed his lockpick kit which was nothing more than a small leather pouch filled with bobbypins and a small screwdriver. After breaking a few pins, he finally unlocked the safe only to find a 10mm SMG, 5 clips, a sling and ammo carrier and a pouch filled with bottlecaps. Without even stopping to question why there were caps ina bag, he threw the caps into his pack. After holstering his pistol and securing the ammo pouch to his left thigh, he grabbed the SMG and loaded a clip.

Upon leaving the lab, he headed towards the Atrium. He dove to cover as he heard voices coming from the Atrium. "Don't you see" Kayden recognized the voice as Tom Holden, a resident he dealt with on occasion, "This is our chance to finally get out of here, just like the doctor!" Kayden couldn't believe it, they were talking about escaping the Vault!

Before Tom's wife, Mary, could even argue he took off towards the Vault's main entrance. To both Mary and Kayden's horror, he was met with a hail of bullets. He was dead before his body even hit the floor. Mary ran toward her now dead husband only to meet the same fate. Kayden's blood was boiling as he had witnessed two innocent people gunned down in cold blood. He ran towards the guards and recognized them as Officer O'Brian and Richards. He let 4 quick bursts from the SMG fly. The first two bursts found their home in Officer O'Brian's chest and throat. The other two easily shattered Officer Richards' helmet and both died instantly.

He quickly noticed that the main entrance was locked but thanks to his years of sneaking around, Kayden knew that there was a secret tunnel in the Overseer's office. He took off towards the armory and office but stopped short of the window as he heard voices in the armory.

"Now Amata," the Overseer's voice was easily noticeable from where Kayden was hiding, "you must be reasonable. I just want to talk with him, that's all."

Kayden crouched down and crept under the window to the edge of the door and racked his brain for a way to protect her. As a plan formed in his mind, he fired off a quick burst of his SMG before letting it rest in it's sling and drawing his 10 mm pistol. As the Overseer and Hannon looked up in shock at the sound, Amata ran out of the Armory to the office and Kayden stood and calmly walked in. "Looking for me?"

Chief Hannon growled and made a move to rush him. Kayden raised the pistol and calmly fired a single round that found its way to Hannon's throat and quickly dropped him. As Hannon slowly drowned on his own blood, Kayden turned the pistol on The Overseer. "The passcode to your computer. Give it to me now."

The Overseer's face contorted in rage "Is that all? Would you like me to hold the door open for you as well? I WILL NOT GIVE THE CODE TO A MURDERER LIKE YOU!" he screamed out in rage.

Kayden calmly fired another round that missed the man's head by inches. "I suggest you give in or I will make the next shot lethal."

"A…Amata" the overseer dropped his head in defeat. Kayden rushed up and pistol whipped him, knocking him out cold.

As he left, Kayden closed the door and smashed the panel, trapping the Overseer in there. He walked into the office and knelt beside Amata, who was sitting in a chair crying.

"Kayden" she cried as she threw her arms around his neck "I don't know what he would have done if you hadn't…"

"It's okay, Amata. You're safe now." He stood up and walked to the computer and using a cord on the monitor, hooked his Pip-Boy2000 up to it. As he scanned the files he noticed one labeled "Scouting Reports." Not saying a word, he downloaded the files and opened the tunnel. "There, the doors open now."

They made their way through the tunnel and quickly arrived at the main chamber that housed the Vault's entrance. It was dimly lit by a few lights and looked as if it had been neglected for years. He walked up to the control panel and pulled the massive lever. He looked up as the massive cog that acted as the door was pulled open and rolled away. He turned to Amata and hugged her, "This is it. The door to the outside." He smiled softly, "I couldn't have done it without you."

Pounding on the door startled them both and Amata pushed him towards the exit "GO! NOW!"

He took one final look at the place where he grew up and as his heart broke, he ran out of the Vault and into the dark unknown.


End file.
